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Selanne's Road to 600

by
Staff Writer
/ Anaheim Ducks

With his 600th career goal on Sunday, Teemu Selanne added yet another chapter to his Hall-of-Fame legacy. He is just the 18th player in NHL history to reach the 600 mark and the second from his native Finland (Jari Kurri, who retired with 601 goals, being the other). The Finnish Flash has spread those goals over four teams (Jets, Ducks, Sharks, Avalance) during his 17 seasons, with the bulk of them (373) coming with Anaheim. Here is a closer look at some of the more memorable goals among the 600 from Selanne.

No. 1 - October 8, 1992Selanne scored his first career goal in just his second professional game with the Jets. The tally came 16:13 into the first period while on the power play against Sharks goaltender Jeff Hackett. Assists were awarded to Phil Housley and Keith Tkachuk. Winnipeg would eventually lose the game, played at the Cow Palace (as HP Pavilion did not open until the 1993-94 season) 4-3 in overtime.

No. 54 - March 2, 1993'Bossy's Record is No More' read one sign at Winnipeg Arena. By completing a hat trick on the night against Quebec and goaltender Stephane Fiset, Selanne broke the NHL rookie goal-scoring record previously held by Mike Bossy. After scoring No. 54, the Finnish Flash performed one of the most iconic celebrations in league history.

No. 76 - April 15, 1993He would cap off his final game as a rookie with one more goal for a total of 76, a rookie record that still stands today (with Bossy remaining in second with 53). Selanne scored the goal 5:25 into the second period on Oilers netminder Bill Ranford. The 76 goals also continue to be the top single-season performance for Selanne in his 17-year career.

No. 93 - December 20, 1993Selanne lit the lamp for the first time against the Ducks, the team he would eventually spend play the majority of his career with. His goal is the first of 12 total between the teams and it came 6:32 into the first period against goaltender Guy Hebert at Winnipeg Arena. The Ducks would go on to win the game 7-5.

No. 100 - January 12, 1994He reached the century mark in goals in just his 130th career game in the NHL. The milestone came 14:15 in the third period against Buffalo netminder Dominik Hasek, who would win the first of his six Vezina Trophies later that year. The goal tied the game and the Jets would defeat the Sabres 3-2 at Winnipeg Arena. Teppo Numminen and Thomas Steen earned assists on the play.

No. 104 - January 27, 1995The Finnish Flash scored for the very time at Honda Center, but as an opponent with the Jets. Down by two in the third period, Selanne got the Jets a little closer by scoring on Guy Hebert with 5:22 remaining in the game. Anaheim would hold off Winnipeg in the end for a 3-2 win at home.

No. 148 - February 10, 1996Traded to the Ducks just three days prior, Selanne scores in his first game with his new club at the New York Islanders in a 4-3 loss. On a "breakaway in the second period" as he recalled recently, the goal came at 47 seconds into the middle sesson of the game against netminder Eric Fichaud. Steve Rucchin and Bobby Dollas assisted on the goal.

No. 200 - February 28, 1997Playing in the nation's capital, Selanne beats Washington goaltender Jim Carey on the power play for his 200th career goal. Assists went to Dmitri Mironov and Paul Kariya on the play. Anaheim would go on to win the game 4-1.

No. 266 - April 8, 1998Selanne set a Ducks franchise record, which still stands with his 52nd goal of the season in a 4-2 Ducks win over the Oilers. The goal is an empty-netter with seven seconds left in regulation to cap off Anaheim's final home game that season.

No. 300 - February 27, 1999Another milestone comes against the Sharks, as he recorded his 300th career goal at San Jose on February 27, 1999 against Steve Shields (a goaltender he would later be traded for). Jason Marshall gets the lone assist on the goal, which came at 15:50 of the first period in a 4-1 Ducks win.

No. 373 - March 29, 2001Traded to the Sharks on March 5, Selanne scored his first goal with San Jose (during a three-goal night) against the Ducks on March 29, 2001. The first two of the three goals come against Jean-Sebastien Giguere, while the final tally is an empty-netter in a 7-4 Sharks win. His former linemate, Paul Kariya, also has a hat trick for the Ducks in the game.

No. 400 - March 7, 2002Against Ottawa (a team he would later win a Stanley Cup against with the Ducks), Selanne tallies his 400th goal while with the Sharks. The milestone is an unassisted tally on the power play 1:32 into the second period against goaltender Patrick Lalime.

No. 437 - October 16, 2003Selanne scores his first goal as a member of the Avalanche, a team he would only spend one season with, in a 5-2 win at Minnesota.The goal, unassisted, is the fifth and final goal of the game for Colorado against goaltender Manny Fernandez and it came 16:28 into the third period.

No. 453 - October 5, 2005Playing his first game back with the Ducks (after signing with the team in the offseason as a free agent), Selanne scores a goal in a 5-3 win at Chicago. It was the first goal of the game for Anaheim, coming at 11:33 in the first period against goalie Nikolai Khabibulin. Petr Sykora and a then-rookie Corey Perry earned the assists.

No. 476 - January 30, 2006With his second goal of the night (the 476th of his career) Selanne reached 1,000 career points in a 4-3 overtime win over the rival Kings. Andy McDonald and Keith Carney assisted on the goal 8:33 into the third, which gave the Ducks a brief one-goal lead in the final period of play.

No. 500 - November 22, 2006On a power play, Selanne beat Jose Theodore of Colorado 14:54 into the second period for the 500th goal of his career. At the time, he became the 36th player in NHL history to reach that milestone, but the number has since risen to 41. Andy McDonald and Chris Pronger assisted on the goal.

No. 528 - February 18, 2007The Finnish Flash passes Paul Kariya for the most goals (301) by a player in a Duck uniform. The milestone comes at 1:13 in the second period (against Los Angeles goalie Sean Burke) of a 4-3 shootout loss to the rival Kings on February 18, 2007. Chris Kunitz and Ric Jackman received assist on the goal. Along with most career goals, the Finnish Flash is also currently first in career assists, points and games played for the Ducks.